Personally, I can't stand front loaders or the top loaders without an agitator. I inherited a brand new set that was a top loader without an agitator and promptly gave them away. Wish I had kept the dryer though. I really, really miss my old 1964 Frigidaire set. That was the best washer I've ever had. I kept it going as long as I could, up into the early 90s until the timer switch finally burned up and it just couldn't be fixed any more.
But on topic, as a rule I don't usually pre wash, but if I'm going to machine embroider on something I'll wash it first so there's no shrinking after the embroidery is done. I serge the edges first so there's no fraying.
Cari